The music of Queen, BSO to light up CCA stage

The stars of the London West End smash musical “We Will Rock You” will join the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in “The Music of Queen — A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular” at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at the Collins Center for the Arts.

March 22, 2012 3:38 pmUpdated: March 22, 2012 3:51 pm

The stars of the London West End smash musical “We Will Rock You” will join the Bangor Symphony Orchestra in “The Music of Queen — A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular” at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 24, at the Collins Center for the Arts. The Pops concert is a co-presentation of the Bangor Symphony and Collins Center for the Arts.

The show features a full rock band and singers from “We Will Rock You,” the musical which is the basis for this particular concert. “We Will Rock You” performed to sold-out crowds in London and around Europe and Asia, and is now in its tenth straight year of performance in the West End. The show is currently on a two-week U.S. tour, which started March 10 with the Dayton Philharmonic in Ohio.

Queen has sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, has 18 No. 1 hits to its credit in the last 40 years and is recognized as one of the most iconic and influential rock bands of all time, thanks in large part to Brian May’s instantly recognizable guitar work and Freddie Mercury’s multioctave voice and charisma. “The Music of Queen — A Rock and Symphonic Spectacular” was created in 2008, as an outgrowth of the musical. Among the classic Queen songs scheduled to be played are “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Radio Ga Ga,” “We Are The Champions,” “Somebody To Love,” “Killer Queen,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and many more. Queen’s music has always had a distinctive symphonic element to it, so an orchestral setting will show off some of that flair.

This is the third year the Bangor Symphony Orchestra and Collins Center for the Arts have co-presented a Pops concert. Last year, the BSO and CCA co-presented a Motown tribute, and in 2010, there was a popular Beatles concert.